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November 29 program:
After giving thanks for the earth's bounty on Thanksgiving, join us at our November meeting to learn more about what makes this bounty possible: healthy soil. Or, as the movie we're showing for our November meeting calls it, "dirt." It's especially appropriate this year to remember the importance of soil since 2015 has been declared by the UN to be the International Year of Soils.From the Dirt! The Movie website:
DIRT! The Movie -- narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis -- brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.
But more than the film and the lessons that it teaches, DIRT! The Movie is a call to action. "When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt and humans has been intimately linked."
Our meetings are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Bring a friend!
WHEN: Sun. Nov. 29 at 2:00 pm
More about soil
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has produced some animated videos about soil issues. Here are a few: * World Soil Day - 1 min.
~ Janet Allen, President, HGCNY Wild Ones Chapter |
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| Monarchs in El Rosario, Mexico
Photo: Flickr |
Monarchs and Patricia
The first monarchs traditionally reach their winter home in Mexico by the first of November, the Day of the Dead.
As Journey North notes, "The arrival of the monarchs symbolizes our ancestors' souls returning to Earth for their annual visit."
They were right on schedule traveling to Mexico, but there was some concern as news of Patricia, an especially powerful hurricane was predicted to be in the area. Would they survive?
From Journey North:
Hurricane Patricia threatened to intersect the migration [last weekend], but the storm dissipated quickly and, in its wake, the monarchs moved in a strong pulse along northern Mexico's Sierra Madres.
More roosts and larger concentrations this fall are raising hopes for a population increase from the record lows of the past 3 years. Scientists will measure the population in December; results are typically available by March.
Learn more about monarchs and the culture of Mexico on the Journey North website. There are many resources for educators there as well.
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Habitat Connectivity
Cornell's YardMap recent newsletter talks about the important concept of connectivity. Our October meeting featuring Josh Cerra discussed this concept. Here's a review for those in attendance or an introduction if you couldn't make it to the meeting:
Some words to know:
From YardMap:
Ecologists talk about landscapes with some helpful vocabulary. A PATCH is a significant natural area. A space large enough for a particular species to successfully carry out some part of its life cycle. How big a patch is needed depends on the species. A patch for a species of snail can be much smaller than a patch for a large mammal like a mountain lion.
When you look at a landscape from above, you might be able to identify STEPPING STONES, or smaller natural areas that act like discontinuous pathways between two larger patches. These stepping stones can act as refuges for seeds or animals moving between larger patches.
CORRIDORS, like stepping stones, connect larger patches of habitat to one another allowing movement of organisms from one refuge to the next.
Read more about habitat connectivity and view graphical representations of these concepts on the YardMap website ...
Our Own Yards and Neighborhoods
Our yards could be a patch for a very small creature; for larger creatures, they might be stepping stones allowing creatures to get from patch to patch. Those of us who have created pollinator gardens in our relatively small yards have noticed how easy it is to create quality habitat for our native bees!
Working with our own neighborhoods, we could create more stepping stones or actual corridors for higher quality habitat for pollinators or even larger creatures such as birds. Here's an example of a neighborhood working together to create a Pollinator Pathway, a mile long corridor that connects Seattle University's campus to a small woods called Nora's Woods.
Learn more from YardMap
Cornell's YardMap website has a wealth of useful resources. You can also map your own yard using their tools. Explore YardMap on the web and sign up for their email newsletter.
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Time for Project FeederWatch!
From the Cornell Lab:Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America.
FeederWatchers periodically count the birds they see at their feeders from November through early April and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. FeederWatch data help scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. Anyone interested in birds can participate. FeederWatch is conducted by people of all skill levels and backgrounds, including children, families, individuals, classrooms, retired persons, youth groups, nature centers, and bird clubs. Participants watch their feeders as much or as little as they want over two consecutive days as often as every week (less often is fine).
They count birds that appear in their count site because of something that they provided (plantings, food, or water). NOTE that our habitat plantings count, not just bird feeders!!
Sign up to be a FeederWatcher by clicking the red button at the top right of the homepage. There is a participation fee - $18 for non-Lab members and $15 for Lab members. In other words, less than the cost of a couple of movie tickets or fast food meals. You can learn more about watching feeder birds (including tricky bird IDs), explore the data that has been collected over the years (such as the Top 25 birds), and participate in the FeederWatch community. By the way ...Can you find my younger self in the More Featured Participants section? This was quite a while ago when I was just getting my habitat garden going, but through the years Project FeederWatch has remained my favorite citizen science project. |
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Horticulture Educator
Part-time Job Opportunity
Cornell Cooperative Extension is looking for someone to coordinate the Master Gardener program and serve as a source of horticultural information.
To learn more about this position, go to the CCE website
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| | Stopping by on its way to Mexico |
Flight of the Butterflies at MOST's iMax Theater
It's a treat to see monarchs in our yards in the summer, but their annual migration to Mexico is one of nature's miracles. A movie about this migration is playing at the MOST. Here's the description: Weighing less than a penny, a monarch butterfly makes one of the longest migrations on Earth to a place it has never known. Join hundreds of millions of real butterflies on an amazing journey to a remote and secret hideaway, and one scientist's 40-year search to unravel the mystery of where they go each fall. Runtime - 45 minutesFor info on show times etc. |
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Join Wild Ones
We welcome everyone to our meetings, but we encourage you to become an official member. Since HGCNY is a chapter of the national organization Wild Ones, when you become a member of Wild Ones, you're automatically a member of HGCNY, too. And since Wild Ones is an official not-for-profit organization, your membership is tax-deductible. It's easy to become a member, receive the bimonthly Wild Ones Journal, and support our mission. Just go to the Wild Ones website or call toll-free (877) 394-9453. |
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Join us on Facebook
As more of us participate on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hgcny, this will become a useful resource for asking (and answering!) local HGCNYers' questions about habitat gardening. |
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Learn more: Habitat gardening
This is an example of a local habitat garden. It also includes links to more information and inspiration to get started on your own habitat garden. |
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Learn more: Edible gardening
This is an example of a local edible garden. It also includes links to more information and inspiration to get started on your own edible garden. |
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